Just Forget I Exist
by toymagikarp
Summary: Chapter 5 up! Meiko and the other Vocaloids meet three new ones. Meiko, however, knows more about two of them than she is comfortable with, and things start to change. Title subject to change. Meiko x Kiyoteru, Kiyomei, Hiyamei, whatever.
1. An Unsettling Revelation

This, my dears, is why I do not write in first person.  
Alas, this is my theory about the not-so-recent (It's been quite a while, hasn't it! I remember when they were first released.) Vocaloids, Kaai Yuki and Kiyoteru Hiyama. It's based on an entry on the WMG page for Vocaloid on TVTropes. (I'm a Troper; same handle as here, without the hyphen.) Also, will have more than one chapter. I hate writing multi-chaptered fics because I'm never sure if they'll get done, but I'll try. If you're curious as to what my theory is, read on. It's somewhat obvious, given Meiko's monologues and the information I've given here.  
I'm not sure how this story will work out, or if I'll ever finish. I write by the seat of my pants. I just wanted to attempt this, seeing as no one here has yet. -dances-

The title may seem very non sequitur, but it comes from a phrase in the story, which comes into play around. . . chapter 3? Also, I suck at titles. Bear with me here. The title was the thing stopping me from uploading this.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Vocaloid.

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**Just Forget I Exist**

**Chapter 1: An Unsettling Revelation**

**

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**

"H-hi," I said. _Smooth, Meiko. Really smooth. No, seriously. You are a master swordsman with words._

The person whom I was addressing slightly tilted his head, but said nothing of it. The light shining in his eyes seemed familiar, for some reason.

I was standing in front of a man with dark hair and eyes to match. To be fair, so were the other thirteen of us. With fourteen people lined up in front of him, obviously he might have been more than a bit intimidated. So why was I the shy one all of a sudden? This was _so_ out-of-character for me.

Well, for starters, he looked like someone I hadn't seen for, oh, about nine years. Surely that was a coincidence. I didn't know his name yet, and I held my breath. Kaito, next to me, seemed to notice.

"Mei-chan, what's wrong?" he whispered to me after he introduced himself. I visibly flinched. "You never told him your name!" Oh, yeah. I realized I'd forgotten about that. I looked forward at the new guy, but he was focused on Luka, who was politely introducing herself.

"Sorry," I muttered. "Wasn't paying attention."

He frowned. "Well, don't do this again tomorrow! The last new member is coming, and he or she might feel unwelcome!" That was true. I hadn't considered that; later, I'd have to go back and properly introduce myself. Geez, I must've had a little too much to drink at the party last night.

I glanced at my wrist; it had been almost thirty minutes since we'd gathered here to meet the new guy, and yet we still weren't done. He seemed to be about halfway down the line, so I figured it wouldn't be too long until we finally learned his name. I let my thoughts drift off elsewhere for a bit; it was getting close to _that _time of year, and no, I wasn't referring to Christmas. Geez, ten years. . .

Thanks to my perfectly tuned ability to block out certain things, I refused to let it bother me until this time of year, which, while convenient to those around me during the rest of the year, made me a real downer in December. This ability, it seemed, applied to conversation as well, as I hadn't noticed I had tuned the outer world out until Kaito shook my shoulder, tilting his head forward in order to get me to pay attention to the newest member, who was now talking.

". . . Anyway, it's great to be here," he finished, smiling. Well, shoot, I'd missed his name! Whatever, I'd find out later. Eventually. Why was I nervous all of a sudden? This never happened, and I'd gone through the traditional greeting process, oh, about ten times. Before I knew it, the rest of the group had dithered apart, each approaching a different area of the room. I was left standing in place like some sort of incompetent moron. Boy, did I feel smart. I pretended to look preoccupied with something on the far wall, but to no avail.

The new one approached me. Well, shoot. I guess there was no avoiding this. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name," he said. At that moment, my brain forgot how to work.

"H-Himeko!" I stuttered. Holy crap, I just forgot my own name. Well, I'd look like an idiot if I tried to correct myself now. "Kisaki Himeko," I finished. Wait, but I'd look stupider if he found out my name and realized I was lying. It was a lose-lose situation. He was saying something; I assumed it was his name, but when I tried to listen, he had finished. Shit, not the damn habit again. I'd have to ask Kaito later. "It's nice to meet you," I said unsurely, hoping he hadn't realized that I hadn't been paying attention.

"Likewise," he replied, smiling genuinely. Well, at least he hadn't caught on. I gave a short goodbye and walked off to find Kaito.

I found him talking to Miriam, and briefly considered waiting until later, but I decided I couldn't put it off this long. "Excuse me," I said so as not to interrupt their conversation. "Kaito," I whispered, "what was the new guy's name? I, er, wasn't paying attention."

"Oh," he smiled, making no attempt to be discreet, "his name is Kiyoteru Hiyama!" I froze, turning pale. Holy shit. My fears were confirmed, and there was no way I was getting out of this.

"Thanks," I muttered, feeling sick, and scurried off, paying no mind to his confused expression. You may be wondering what was up with my frantic fleeing from the room. I'll let you find that out later, but as you may or may not have gathered, the new guy was in fact someone I knew quite well from about ten years ago. Those grey eyes were ones I knew I'd never forget, for sure.

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The chapters are short and end abruptly, I think. I apologize.  
Meiko's age, in this story, is about 26 or so as of 10/4/2009. Kiyoteru's is probably 26 or 27. For this story, I'm giving him the random birthday of April 19th; Meiko's remains November 5th. You can figure out their ages in the past, I s'pose. This, obviously, takes place starting on December 5th. (SF-A2miki had arrived the previous day in this story, though this is not true for their actual release. And I like the name SF-A2miki.)  
I don't know if this is enough to get people interested. This pairing literally has no fandom.  
I hate random second-person in first- or third-person stories. I apologize for the end.


	2. Explanations

Here's chapter 2. I've had this written since I posted the first, actually. Hah. It's kinda short and doesn't really go anywhere; just establishes things. A bit of late exposition, if you will.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Vocaloid.

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**Just Forget I Exist**

**Chapter 2: Explanations**

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I'd changed significantly in the past ten years, both physically and mentally. My hair had darkened from its honey color to a warmer, darker reddish brown, and I no longer wore those ridiculous burgundy contacts I had once worn. Even so, apart from growing a bit taller, filling out my figure, and letting my voice mature, I wasn't sure if I was different enough to the point where he wouldn't recognize me. My personality was something completely different, as well. I wondered if he'd changed as much.

About ten and a half years ago, he was one of the top ten percent of students, sang and played lead guitar in a band, (which I was also in), and was my boyfriend. Like you'd expect, he was perfect, and had been my best friend for about six years. After much pressuring from our friends, we'd finally gotten together sometime after I'd turned fifteen, and were voted as Cutest Couple in that year's yearbook. I was also one of the top students, though only in the top twenty percent, and so everyone expected it to work out. And it did. Well, for the most part.

Now, by this point, you've probably already figured out what happens next, if you're smart. It sounds like any other clichéd story; well-to-do boy meets well-to-do girl, they become friends, fall in love, girl gets knocked up, guy leaves. I promise you, it's different. Mostly.

In March of my junior year, when I was about seventeen, things changed significantly. That year, we'd both decided that we were ready for something more, relationship-wise. Admittedly, I suppose it was a bit more of my idea than his. Stupid, stupid, stupid. And so, that year, we lost our virginity to each other. It felt good, the best part being the unbroken trust and our relationship still going strong. The problem was that, unknown to either of us, one thing had already broken, and two others would soon follow in the same pattern.

Anyway, the trouble started when, one day, I realized my monthly gift was more than a little late; absent, in fact. _Shit,_ I'd thought, _Shit, shit, shit._ I didn't remember the condom breaking. Had it? I guessed it had. And thus began the transformation of both myself and my life.

As the days passed I grew more and more worried about whether anyone would find out. I hadn't told him, of course; I wouldn't dare ruin his perfect life for my own sake. I began to dress more conservatively, opting for looser clothing that still managed to look stylish. I guess it was just luck that the school year was nearly over, and that I hadn't begun to show until summer.

Eventually, my parents figured it out, and _boy _were they disappointed. I'd have preferred to be yelled at, but the intensity of what happens really gets to you when your parents are beyond yelling. Amazingly, they managed not to tell anyone, and by my request, had me transferred to a different school. Leaving him and my old life behind was a lot easier than ruining him, and I, cowardly Meiko, took the former option. Running away usually didn't solve anything; this time, I guess it did. Christ, this entire thing is hard to express. I'm left with lumps in my throat the size of hailstones. . . Erm, anyway.

The new school was. . . well. . . not as good, which explained why I was in the top five percent of my class. Luckily, though, at the new school nobody seemed to pay much attention to my. . . erm. . . condition. And so hobbled along, mostly, until about November. I'd known the. . . baby (I had a bit of trouble calling it that) was due to be born in late November or early December, and my parents, thankfully, had helped me through it, arranging for an adoption to take place. I didn't want to abort it, mainly for the reason that, even if I never saw Hiyama again, I'd know somewhere that there was a part of him and a part of me out there somewhere. I'd felt sicker as the days went by, and when the day came in December that I'd started contractions, I'd wondered why I'd decided to go through with this in the first place.

Well, actually, it was more like _JESUS FREAKING CHRIST WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING AFYIGVkfsakDASFKgSK. _Eventually, on the 12th of December, 2000, the whole thing was done with and I had a bawling baby to give away to some polished family. Lovely. I kinda just wanted to curl up and forget I was born in the first place. The first thing I'd seen when I looked out the window was a shit-ton of snow, which was pretty much a mirror of my mind at the time; blank. So I named the kid – sorry, _her_ –Yuki, and was done with it. Within a week, I had handed her off to a new family, and decided never to think about it again. Except in December, which, ironically, was supposed to be a happy time of year. Nuts to that.

She'd had my eyes, I'd noticed. I wouldn't soon forget that. My eyes, and his dark hair. And hell if I was ever going to forget that.

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Dun dun DUUUUUN. Now we know something.  
I'm sorry. BUHH. I am not a fan of teen pregnancy, especially if it's one of my favorite characters. At least she wasn't, like, raped though. That's even worse; I'm not intending to paint Kiyo as a villain. They're not irresponsible so much as just young and naïve.

**EDIT: **I changed Yuki's birthday, because the story will not likely get as far as the 28th. I would have preferred it to be then, but. . . this is the way it will remain.


	3. Starting to Get Way Too Coincidental

Here's chapter 3 and what used to be chapter 4 before I just slammed them together. I'm sorry the chapters were so short. I'm trying to make them longer, so to make up for that I just put these two awkwardly together. I'm not good at writing long things, and believe me, it looks so much longer on word. FF dot net just spreads things out all the way 'cross the page.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Vocaloid.

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**Just Forget I Exist**

**Chapter 3: Starting to Get Way Too Coincidental**

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Like I'd expected, Hiyama, ever faithful, had tried to contact me. God, it was hard having to lie to him; I'd come up with all sorts of lies, like that we had moved suddenly and he shouldn't call our house phone because an old lady had moved in who jumped at the opportunity to call the cops, or that there was a family issue and I was sent to live with my aunt, et cetera. Mostly, I guess he believed them. One day, purely by accident, though, he'd managed to reach me on my cell phone. "Hello?" I'd answered, and immediately I'd heard a sigh of relief.

"Meiko?" the voice had asked. "Mei-chan, is that really you?" _Oh, crap,_ I'd thought.

"Yeah," I'd replied, voice cold and distant. "Listen, it would be best for both of us if you just forgot I existed, okay?" And so I hung up. Young Meiko, ever the heartbreaker. I could've sworn I'd heard his (and my) heart breaking. Alas, it was the only thing I could do. And from then on, we never made contact again, either fortunately or unfortunately.

Well, until yesterday, really. I was going to have to figure out a way to remain unknown to him- wait, why was I still so scared? Guess things never change. People never change, rather. I wondered if I could, with enough "coercing", convince the others that Himeko Kisaki was in fact my real name, and that they should start calling me that. I considered my options, deciding that if I wanted something to spread like wildfire, Miku was the one to tell.

I found her half-asleep on the couch, groggily watching some singing competition show. "Miku," I said, getting her attention by shaking my shoulder, "did you know that Sakine Meiko isn't my real name?" I knew that curiosity would take hold of the eighteen-year-old, and I realized this was still true when she blinked, turquoise eyes shining, and faced me with a bewildered expression.

"Really?" she asked, genuinely curious but still sounding drowsy. I nodded, smiling. "But why are you telling me this? And what's your real name, then?" Oh, right. The curiosity. I forgot.

"I. . . was tired of living a lie?" I answered tentatively. Amazingly, she seemed to buy it. I stood up to walk away, then remembering I had forgotten to disclose something. "Oh!" I blurted. "My name's. . ." Crap, what was it again? I looked to the left, seeking answers on the ceiling. "Kisaki Himeko," I finished. Miku looked at me with glazed-over eyes, but seemed to accept this information. She muttered something intelligible before falling over backwards onto the couch, instantly asleep. Only then did I check the time; 6:00 in the morning. Geez, it was too function to early properly. Wait, what had I just thought? Man, I needed sleep. I slinked off to my room and probably fell asleep the moment my head hit the pillow.

Only to be woken up what felt like twenty minutes later. Boy, was someone in for a beating! I rubbed my eyes to see who the culprit was, but my vision was failing me. "Kisaki-san," the culprit said, "it's 10:30 am now, and the others sent me to wake you up. . ." He seemed hesitant, whoever it was.

Wait- "Who the hell's Ki-" I paused. Oh, yeah. . . . Oh, wait. Why did they send him to wake me up? Were they afraid of me, or something? Ridiculous. Oh, right, I forgot to answer him. "Oh!" I managed, sitting up straight, wondering how much of a mess I looked. "Er, thanks. Is everyone downstairs already?"

He seemed hesitant, and was looking at me funny. Crap, I probably did look like crap. "Yes, and they've left you some breakfast too, if you're hungry. . ." He trailed off, leaving me to wonder why.

"Mm, okay," I said, ever awkward. "Thanks, Hiya-" Whoops, almost screwed myself over there. "K-Kiyoteru-san," I finished. As stupid as it sounds, I swore I felt my heart choke at having to be so formal around him all of a sudden. This was going to take some getting used to. . .

"Well," he said, brow furrowed, "I'll leave you be, then," and left to join the others downstairs. I got up and entered my bathroom, bracing myself and wondering how bad I looked when lacking sleep. Instead of the monster I had been expecting to see reflected back at me, I could've sworn I'd seen parts of my old self in the reflection. There was a certain light in my eyes that had been missing for years, and my confident posture, despite the circumstances, surprised both me and the reflection in the mirror. My cheeks were flushed, and I couldn't think of what would explain the sudden changes, other than yesterday's events. Boy, this was going to be interesting.

* * *

So obviously, I went downstairs and found, as I'd been informed, my breakfast sitting at the table. I took a seat next to Leon, also a late riser. "What's up?" he asked. "You seem embarrassed or something." Jeez, did it show that much?

"Nothing," I replied as nonchalantly as I could. "Just tired, and a little warm. It was kinda hot in my room," I lied.

"It's thirty degrees outside, you know," he said, eyes closed while stirring his oatmeal. Oh, yeah, I suppose it was December. I said nothing but decided to just eat my breakfast and get it over with.

At first, nothing seemed different, but then something occurred to me. "Leon, did you make this? It tastes familiar, but different." I didn't know why, but it was a taste I knew but had not experienced in years.

"Nope," he shrugged.

"Oh," I said bluntly, disappointed. "Well, who did? There's the perfect amount of brown sugar, and it actually does not taste like paste." It was a real skill to be able to make good oatmeal, I thought.

"Dunno," he shrugged. "Sorry!"

"That's fine," I mumbled. "I wonder if it was Rin. Does she even know how to cook?" I asked, spying her specific bowl in the sink. She, too, was a late riser, and God forbid anyone wake her up too early. Man, that kid was fierce. She kinda reminded me of myself.

"Probably not." I guessed Leon was not fond of wasting his words in the morning. Neither was I, really. We ate in silence until I finished and stood up, deciding to look for something to help with for the newest and last arrival. I was pretty sure he or she was going to be the last of the group to join us this month, but as before I didn't know much of anything yet.

"I'm gonna go. . ." I paused, not knowing how to finish, "somewhere. Okay?"

"Sure," Leon said. "Himeko-san." I could practically hear the smirk in his voice; I sighed. Well, at least I could still rely on Miku to spread gossip like an STD. Sorry, bad comparison there.

I found Gumi hanging up streamers to replace the ones that had been torn down yesterday. Three parties in a row really was a ton of work, and yet Gumi was always helping somehow. Gotta love that kid; I swear she is literally the personification of sunshine. Anyway. "Whatcha up to, kiddo?" I asked.

She smiled, nearly blinding me. Like I said; sunshine. "Just hanging up these streamers!" Why so enthusiastic? I wondered. Well, this was Gumi. "Wanna help? I still have to blow up some balloons and prepare the punch, and then I should probably help vacuum." She blinked, remembering something. "Oh, but then I have to go buy chips! Len-kun ate the rest of them, I think." Wow, the kid could talk.

"Sure," I replied unsurely. "I could go, uh, buy chips and get the punch, I guess."

Gumi just grinned wider. "Would you?" With that, I grabbed my bag and headed out the door.

Not much later, I found myself at the nearest supermarket, contemplating the chips. What kind did we usually buy? I'd forgotten. I turned to examine the other half of the aisle behind me, but stopped when I bumped into someone. "Whoa, there!" I exclaimed by habit. "Sorry about that, I wasn't looking."

"That's quite all right," the familiar stranger said, "Kisaki-san, was it?" Oh, boy. This was just freakily coincidental now.

"Yeah, er, Kiyoteru-san," I managed. "I was just buying chips and I was gonna go get punch afterward."

"I see. I wanted to help with the party as well, so Megpoid-san sent me here." A beat of silence flew by. "I take it you ate breakfast already, then? Rather quickly as well, I might add."

I scratched my head. "Yeah, it was unusually delicious, but it tasted familiar, and I have no idea who made it, though." I sighed. "A shame, it had the perfect amount of brown sugar! I'll have to thank the oatmeal fairy later," I chuckled nervously.

He grinned. "You liked it? I saw that you, Kagamine-chan and Leon-san hadn't gotten up yet, so I made oatmeal while everyone was preparing for today." Wow. Okay, this was just insane.

Nevertheless, I wore a surprised expression."Really? How awfully nice of you to do something like that on your first full day here! Sorry if I never gave you the most welcome introduction. I was just. . ." I paused, thinking of an excuse, "surprised about something."

"That's perfectly all right," he said, then chuckled. "I can imagine how strenuous it is to meet three new people all of a sudden."

"Right," I agreed, not thinking the same thing. Then I remembered why I had gone there in the first place. "Oh! Right, I was supposed to get the chips . . ." I had a sudden bout of memory and reached for the brand that I was supposed to buy, grabbing multiple bags. "Are you done shopping?" I asked once I had finished filling the basket I was holding.

He nodded, holding up a full basket. "Should we go pay, then?" he suggested.

"Sure." With that, we each scanned and paid for out belongings at the self-service lanes.

"Did you drive here?" he asked me once we had finished. I shook my head.

"Nah, I walked," I replied. "It's not that far, and I needed some air, anyway."

"Ah," he said, then added, "You're welcome to ride with me, if you'd like."

I smiled. "That'd be nice!"

We rode in silence in his car. I wrapped my arms tighter around the groceries as the car turned and the song on the radio changed. "I love this song," we both murmured in unison after the intro was established. He looked at me briefly, eyebrows raised.

"Really?" he asked. "I wouldn't have pegged you a fan of this band." I hadn't heard them for a long while, and my music tastes had certainly changed, but this band had apparently still stuck with me, even after nine years.

"They're okay," I said, nonchalant.

He smiled. "This song reminds me of someone I once knew." He exhaled softly, but loudly enough that I was able to hear it.

"You don't say," I muttered. It just so happened that this was one of the last songs that he, I, and his band had played together. It seemed like those stupid higher powers were not going to let me forget what had happened in the past, now.

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Sigh. This is all I had written, so the next chapter will take longer. In the meantime, stick with this. (I'm starting to not like this anymore. Hah.)


	4. A New Arrival

Took me 4 days, but I updated. Woo.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Vocaloid.

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**Just Forget I Exist**

**Chapter 4: A New Arrival**

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So naturally, we ended up back at the mansion after a car ride that, for me, at least, had seemed longer than it was. Apparently, either Gumi worked at superhuman speed or she had gotten some help, because the place looked about five times more decorated than before. We went our separate ways as I went to go arrange the chips and pour the punch. Lola was in the kitchen, arranging food on plates very neatly. "Hey, do you know when the new one's coming today?" I asked.

She looked up, apparently not having noticed me at first. "I think in about an hour or so, maybe two?" she answered. Well, shoot, we'd have to work faster.

"Thanks," I said, then added, "Do you know who he or she is?" She shook her head.

"No, but I do know that it's a girl. I'm not sure that anyone else does, either! Maybe Leon does, but I don't think he'll tell anyone . . ."

"Thanks," I mumbled again. I guessed I could wait an hour. As it were, time pretty much flew by, and so did the rest of the Vocaloids. In no time at all, the place was totally decked out, and more so than it had been the previous two nights. Whose stupid idea had it been to hold parties three nights in a row? I wondered. Not mine, for sure. I mean, who didn't love parties? Myself included, but no way did I want to clean up all the mess.

Anyway, when the time had come, we all did our traditional lining up thing. I'll spare the boring details. Jeez, I just wanted to get this whole thing over with, bury my face in a pillow inside my locked room, and repress memories. Okay, not really. But the thought was tempting, and my head hurt anyway.

The doorbell rang, startling me out of my thoughts. As usual, Leon stepped forward and opened the door to reveal a grinning, pigtailed little girl in a red school uniform. Wait. What? She couldn't be more than, like, 9! Sure, she was adorable, but what kind of creep would hire her to sing songs? I shuddered at the thought.

"This is Kaai Yuki-chan," Leon introduced. "Yuki-chan is 8, almost 9, and the newest member! Let's give her a warm welcome." I gaped, probably resembling some kind of fish, but not caring. Higher Powers, if you're there, this is NOT funny. Sick bastards. I freakin' swear-

Kaito, next to me, nudged me. "Mei-chan!" he whispered harshly. "You're doing it again? What's wrong with you recently?"

"Sorry," I mumbled. "I . . . Had too much to drink last night?" I offered, lying through my teeth. He sighed, seeing through it, and placed a tentative hand on my shoulder.

"You're worrying me, Mei-chan," he whispered. "This is the second time in a row. Are you okay?" I looked across him and to my right, evading his worried look. The new kid – sorry, Yuki – was gleefully introducing herself to Sweet Ann, who apparently thought she was absolutely adorable. Well, she was, of course.

"I'm fine," I said bluntly. "And please, _don't_ call me that." Slightly quieter, I whispered, "It's Himeko now, remember?" His expression displayed confusion, but he soon remembered and turned to face forward, finding that Yuki was smiling in front of him.

"Hi, mister!" she chirped, sounding completely saccharine. Kaito grinned.

"How cute!" he gushed. "My name is Shion Kaito, but you can call me Kaito-niisan!" he introduced himself, petting her head.

"It's nice to meet you, Kaito-niisan!" she squealed, still as cheerful as she had been twenty minutes ago. Then she bounced over to me. "Hi, miss!" she chirped, and I realized the kid was going to be this enthuiastic to all of us, no matter what. I managed to smile, surprising myself when I realized I was actually smiling genuinely.

"Hi, Yuki-chan," I said. "I'm Sa-. . ." I paused, nearly forgetting my alias. "Erm, Kisaki Himeko." As I scanned the room, it seemed no one was shocked by this; I assumed the word had fully spread not to call me by my actual name. Suddenly her smile straightened and she tilted her head at me, apparently finding something odd, and stared for a few seconds.

A few seconds after that, the smile returned wider than before, and she cheerfully replied, "It's nice to meet you, Himeko-neesan!" Well, didn't THAT feel strange. Especially considering that I was 90 percent sure I was this kid's MOTHER.

You remember when I was cursing the gods a while ago? Yeah. Now you know why.

So, as it happened, the family who'd adopted Yuki was called the Kaai family. I hadn't known much about them at first, but after I made my decision, I was glad I had. I got to know them pretty well, and they were some seriously nice people. We even arranged for Yuki and I to meet a few times, though each time she was too young to remember or recognize me. Kinda heartbreaking, really, but I was used to it by then. And so, I was able to cling onto _some_ memories, until she got old enough to remember me, and the visits had to stop. In short, it had been quite a while since I'd seen this girl.

This girl, by the way, was now standing next to Hiyama, practically attached to his side, but was facing all of us. I wondered why. Thankfully, someone else asked that question for me. "Yuki-chan?" Lola asked. "Do you already know Kiyoteru-san, sweetie?"

"Yes!" She nodded enthusiastically. "Kiyoteru-sensei is my teacher!" Oh. That's what he'd decided to do? He'd been insanely smart back then, so I wondered why this came as a shock to me. Those of us who were old enough all had other jobs; I was a bartender most of the time, but helped out in the local bookstore and dance studio occasionally. Neither really paid a ton, but the whole Vocaloid thing was well-paying on its own.

Back in the real world, Hiyama nodded. "I teach at the local elementary school," he explained. "Yuki-chan is one of my best students. Isn't that right?" he asked, patting her on the shoulder. She nodded cheerfully, and then I realized something.

Why was Yuki HERE? Wouldn't any set of parents want their nine-year-old child to finish school before joining us, or at least get through or to high school like the rest of us had? Parents usually didn't want to part with their children until they were older. . . Honestly, I was perplexed. I mean, jeez, of course I loved being able to see Yuki again! (And Hiyama. Sigh.) But I really was going to have to call one of her parents. That sounds so teachery, doesn't it? Jeez, I'm old.

The group had diverged once again, but Yuki remained by Hiyama's side while he talked to Sweet Ann. It struck me as odd that she was that attached to him; no nine-year-old girl should be_ that_ close to her teacher, I thought. For all I knew, he could be some kind of pedoph– oh, _God_, no! I winced, thinking of the Kagamine twins at the ripe age of almost-sixteen. I sincerely hoped Yuki's familiarity with Hiyama was because he was the one person she actually knew. Actually, that made sense.

While no one else was paying attention to me, I took the opportunity to grab the phone and do some interrogating. After making sure nobody was already using the phone, I dialed the number of the Kaai family, which I had known by heart ever since I had given Yuki away to them. Kaai Mitsuye, Yuki's adoptive mother, answered me. "Yes, hello?" she spoke, startling me.

"Th-this is Sakine Meiko!" I stuttered into the phone. "I, er, wanted to talk to you." There was a moment of silence, leading me to first believe she had forgotten me or my voice, but she spoke up again.

I could practically hear the smile in her voice as she answered, "Ah, yes! You seem to have gotten yourself famous now, hm, Meiko-san? You joined that Vocaloid group a few years ago, didn't you?" I nodded tentatively, forgetting she couldn't see me over the phone. "My! Last time I saw you, you were still in college, weren't you?"

"That's right," I confirmed. "Listen, uh . . ." I paused, coming up with nothing, and decided to just come out with it. "Why is Yuki here?"

She cleared her throat. "Yes, I thought that was what this is about," she said. "You see, dear Yuki's gotten to the age where she's started to ask questions, namely about who her real parents are," she explained. "Around that time, Yuki had been scouted out at her school, being the wonderful singer that she is. I suppose she got that from you." Really, both of her parents had such a talent, but neither of the Kaai parents had known that, although the Kaai parents were the only people, besides my own parents, who knew who the father was. "She was given the opportunity to join your Vocaloid group, invited by your boss himself, I heard! I knew you had also joined them, so I told her that she would be able to find out who her mother was if she joined, and she jumped at it."

"Wait," I interjected, panicking, "you told her who I was?"

"No, of course not," she laughed calmly. "I told her she'd have to figure it out for herself." Well. That'd explain why she had been looking at me funny. Had she caught on already? Man, what a clever kid.

"I think she has an idea by now," I muttered dryly, then changed the topic. "Not to offend you, but isn't it a bit . . . irresponsible to leave Yuki in the hands of a bunch of strangers?"

She inhaled. "Goodness, no, you lot are hardly strangers!" she exclaimed. "Firstly, both of her biological parents will be living in the same house as her, after all!" I thought I heard breathing on the phone all of a sudden, but it was gone momentarily and I assumed it was just me. "Secondly, I know you would have left a long time ago if these people were anything less than trustworthy, so I know she'll be okay. And you don't really tour or travel much, do you?" Well, no. Miku was the only one who had, being insanely famous in way more than just Japan.

"No, we don't," I admitted. "The most she'd have to travel would be the distance to recording studios."

"There you go! Can we trust you all to watch after her? We live right nearby, you remember, and she can with us on weekends. Since she was able to, Yuki was always singing, and this is such an opportunity for her!" She sounded really set on this; I was reminded of how excited I had been to be invited here. I sighed inwardly.

"Alright," I said, giving in. Well, I reasoned, at least I'd be able to be around Yuki, even if it meant nothing to her. "Thank you for talking to me about this. I have to go now; someone might want to use the phone."

"That's not a problem, Meiko-san," she replied. "I'll talk to you soon!" With that, she hung up. And then hung up again. And then I hung up.

Wait, the phone had clicked _three_ times? What?

Had someone been listening?

* * *

**EDIT**: What the actual fuck; I forgot about the whole Kisaki Himeko thing. STUPID, STUPID, STUPID. So I edited it. Someone pound it into my brain, please? (I'm kind of glad no one pointed it out, though, hee hee.)

Dun dun DUUUUN. I actually don't know who it is; ha! Any suggestions, follower?  
This chapter pretty much explains things more. I'm glad, because it's long, and it's just one chapter rather than two put together.  
For the sake of organization, I made myself a handy-dandy chart about character ages and interactions, and I'll put it on my profile so y'all can know things, though it was mostly for my benefit. 'Kay?


	5. The First Sound of Today

Happy late Halloween or something. Pretty meaningless, now.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Vocaloid. Wait a second, wh-! Nope, still don't.

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**Just Forget I Exist**

**Chapter 5: The First Sound of Today**

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So it seemed like both Hiyama and – what was the cherry red girl's name? – Miki-san already had a lot of work. They were gone for the rest of the day on the 6th and most of the 7th, each of them being transported from studio to studio with a plethora of duet partners chosen from the rest of us. Back when I had joined, we hadn't been nearly as popular, but it was really quite busy for me. Distantly, I wondered who Hiyama might be singing with at that moment.

Our yet tightly-knit group grew closer when pairs of Vocaloids started dating each other, or grew attractions. Naturally, it posed problems when each of us had been hired to sing more than one song in every combination imaginable, especially if you were the jealous type (me, to an extent). Naturally, it was an even bigger problem when a Vocaloid had a boyfriend or girlfriend outside of us; one that no one knew or knew about. Recently, though, it seemed like everybody had somebody, except for about five people (myself included). Love is freakin' scary, I swear. I pretty much gave up after college, when I decided to hell with it and chopped most of my hair off, maintaining the style for years after.

"Me- sorry, Himeko-san," Miriam called suddenly, smiling slightly, startling me out of my thoughts, "you have a song request, and it says you should head to Nijibara Studio by two o' clock." She looked up from the paper she was holding. "It's already one. You going?"

"Shoot," I muttered. "Yeah." And so, I grabbed my keys, donned a coat, and headed out.

When I arrived at the studio at 1:50, Luka was just heading out the door. "Oh, Himeko-san," she greeted with a hint of a knowing smile, "I was just singing with Miki-san. What brings you here?" she asked, ever nonchalant.

"Not sure," I mumbled unsurely. "I was just sent here without any forewarning."

"Oh," she said. "I think Kiyoteru-san might have been looking for you."

"Is that so?" I muttered. "Thanks, Luka-san." She nodded as I entered the building, waiting for either one of the new Vocaloids to scout me out. I didn't have to wait long, because – guess who? – none other than Hiyama approached me.

"Ah, Kisaki-san, you're here," he greeted. "Hango-sama, the producer, is looking for us. Shall we go?" He gestured down a hallway, and I followed as he led the way. When we reached the room, I was surprised at the size; it was twice the size of the others I had been in.

There was a woman who looked to be about 32 sitting and waiting for us; she looked up from the folder she was holding and stood up to greet us, her purple glasses glinting in the light. "You must be Kiyoteru-san," she greeted. He extended a hand, and she took it. "And that makes you Sa-"

I coughed, interrupting, "Kisaki Himeko, nice to meet you." She regarded me with an amused look, but thankfully let it slide.

"It's nice to meet you both," she said. "My name is Hango Mikiru." She opened the folder in her hands, scanning a paper inside of it. "Now, Kiyoteru-san; I understand you were in a band in high school, correct? Ten years ago, was it?" She glanced furtively toward me, raising an eyebrow but not saying anything else.

He nodded. "That's about right," he replied. "Why do you ask?"

She held a copy of sheet music in her hand; I couldn't make out the title from where I was standing. "What I have here is a copy of the sheet music for one of your songs," she explained. What? I wondered how the hell she got her hands on that.

"Huh?" He seemed about as surprised as I was. "How did you get your hands on that?" Well, see, I was right about one thing.

"I have my ways," she said, purposely vaguely. "Now, any ideas as to what song this may be?" she asked, waving around the paper. "From what I'd heard, it was a pretty well-known song back a while ago." We both considered it, but I did so less obviously.

"'Always, The Sound of That Day'?" we answered in unison; I mumbled under my breath, barely heard, but they both turned to look at me anyway.

"Hm? Have you heard of that song, Kisaki-san?" he asked.

I merely shrugged. "I, er, heard it on the radio . . . recently?" I lied, not convincing in the least, but he only raised his eyebrows, not saying anything.

Hango-sama cleared her throat, then continued, "You both are correct. Do you want to hear the song first, or should I just hand you the music?"

"I'd like to hear it again," he answered, smiling, "but I'd like to see my part as I listen, if that's alright." She nodded and handed us each our parts, leaving the room to play the song. Within seconds, the room was filled with the mellow sound of guitars and a slightly arrhythmic drum beat; sounds of an amateur yet talented high school band.

After the intro, I heard a voice which, after a few seconds of processing, could definitely be recognized as mine from ten years ago. I jumped a bit, surprised and a bit embarrassed to hear how I had sounded so long ago. I scanned the sheet music, somehow remembering the majority of the words and melody; this song was one of the only things that previously had reminded me of Hiyama. When I looked up as the chorus played, I found him watching me curiously, and realized I had been humming and idly tapping my fingers under the chair. I ceased, somewhat embarrassed, and returned to looking at the music.

The singer changed, and the sound of Hiyama's strong 17-year-old voice filled the room, just like I'd remembered it. I sniffed and saw water droplets fall onto the paper before I realized I had been crying, and discreetly tried to wipe them away. Unfortunately, the song was ending, and he noticed. "Is something wrong?" he asked with actual concern.

I shook my head and tried to smile convincingly. "No," I told him, "I just- this song reminds me of someone, that's all." Jeez, I was gonna have to work on this being discreet thing.

"Me, too," he lamented, smiling somewhat sadly. Then, to my rejoice, the moment left. "Are you ready?" he asked.

"For wh- Oh!" I blurted, forgetting momentarily why I was there. "Yeah, I guess so." But then I realized something. Over ten years my voice had really matured, but what if it wasn't enough not to be recognized? I would be royally boned on the off chance that he heard something familiar in my voice.

I panicked for all of about ten seconds before Hango-sama returned. "Are you two all ready now?" She waited for us to nod, then continued, "Brilliant. I have a remastered version of the instrumentals, so I'll give you a moment to get acquainted in that room while I set up, if that's alright." We took that opportunity to enter the recording room, setting up while the woman did the same.

When we were both ready with our headphones on, she started talking. "I'll give you as many times as you need to warm up with the music before you record," she told us. "If you'll tell me when you're both ready. You can press that button to restart the music if you need to," she directed, pointing to a large button which I had somehow missed, and started the music. When she had said remastered, she had _meant_ it. The instrumentals sounded professional; they probably were. I nodded, taking in her instructions, then realized I had missed my cue. Frantic, I whapped the button with more vigor than I needed.

"S-sorry!" I stuttered. "I kind of spaced out there."

"It's alright," she spoke. "Try again." And so I did. I managed to actually sing that time around, looking to my right while I did so. I wouldn't be able to hear him (nor him me), so I would be safe for a while. He was quietly following along in the music, and when he began singing, I pretty much stood there staring. And almost forgot to enter again in the last repetition of the chorus.

The song ended, and Hango-sama's voice filled the soundproof rooms. "Pretty good, not bad at all!" she said. "I think we should try again, no?" Obviously, there was no option. We both nodded, and she replayed the music. I actually made it through pretty well that time.

"Wow," she murmured, "I didn't expect you two to be this excellent at learning the music so quickly! Then again, you've both sung this song, haven't you?" Hiyama smiled nervously, seeming to me to be somewhat puzzled. Well, shoot. If I was going to be found out, it would be here in this studio, I thought. "The song is being mixed as we speak," she continued. "You both are free to take a break, and I'll call you in to listen to it in a while, even if it isn't fully finished." I took that as my cue to exit the soundproof room, and Hiyama did the same.

"Do you want to go for lunch?" he suggested as we met outside the room. When I looked at him, he interpreted me correctly, continuing, "She has my phone number; I'm sure she'll be able to reach us in time."

"Sure, okay!" I shrugged, trying not to sound too excited.

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I know I ended it abruptly, but I really wanted to upload something and didn't want it to drag on long. Blargh.  
About the song; I don't know what the hell is translates to, but it's called 'Itsumo, Ano Hi no Ongaku to (LIVE ver.)' It's actually a Meiko and Kaito song, but it has that high-school band feel to it. Plus, it's completely ironic to use in the story, and it's somewhat obvious why if you watch the PV. I'll link it in my profile. (Odd that a HS band might have such a song, but I digress.) I'm hoping to add some conflict eventually! But I don't know who might have been listening on the phone (see ch. 4; still need ideas, Follower. Ha, I'm so funny.) so I don't know yet.

Sorry, but I don't know much about how recording studios work. But I'll make it known that they have been recruited as Vocaloids for their pitch-perfectness and music reading abilities, and this is true for my other fanfiction as well. So the process is greatly shortened, especially with just singers rather than a band.  
Sorry to drag on here. Hope I've done good explaining things thus far, though.


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